Давай немного помолчим.

By itself, давай is the imperative of давать and can literally mean give or come on, do it depending on context. But in this sentence, it is part of a very common conversational pattern:

давай + 1st person plural verb = let’s ...

So Давай немного помолчим means something like Let’s be quiet for a little while.

This use of давай is informal and very common in speech.

Because Russian, like English, often uses an inclusive we for suggestions.

Compare:

• Let’s sit down
• Let’s wait
• Let’s be quiet for a bit

You are still speaking to one person, but the idea is you and I will do this together. That is why Russian uses the 1st person plural form:

• помолчим = we will be silent / let’s be silent

So even when talking to one person, the we form is normal after давай.

After давай / давайте, Russian usually uses the 1st person plural verb form, not a separate imperative.

So instead of a structure like давай + imperative, Russian says:

• Давай пойдём = Let’s go
• Давай подождём = Let’s wait
• Давай немного помолчим = Let’s be quiet for a bit

Grammatically, помолчим is the 1st person plural future form, but in this pattern it functions as a suggestion: let’s ...

This is an aspect question.

• молчать = imperfective, to be silent / to keep silent
• помолчать = perfective, to be silent for a while

The prefix по- often gives the idea of doing something for some time, often a limited or moderate amount of time.

So:

• помолчим suggests let’s be quiet for a bit
• it sounds natural because the sentence is about a short, bounded period of silence

That matches немного very well.

If you used the imperfective idea instead, it would sound less like for a little while and more like a general process or state.

Here немного means a little, for a little while, or for a bit.

It softens the suggestion and makes it sound gentler:

• Давай помолчим = Let’s be quiet
• Давай немного помолчим = Let’s be quiet for a little while

So немного is not describing the amount of silence in a literal measurable way; it is giving a sense of short duration or small degree.

Usually, no. It is normally fairly soft.

Why it sounds mild:

• давай makes it a suggestion rather than a blunt order
• немного softens it further
• помолчим includes the speaker too, so it is we, not just you

Depending on tone, it can sound:

• calm
• intimate
• thoughtful
• slightly firm

A much more direct form would be Помолчи = Be quiet / Be silent, which can sound rude or sharp depending on context.

The difference is the same as in many other Russian imperatives:

• давай = informal singular, used with one person you address as ты
• давайте = plural or polite, used with several people or with one person you address as вы

So:

• Давай немного помолчим = informal, to one person
• Давайте немного помолчим = polite/formal to one person, or to a group

You can use that to understand the grammar, but not as a natural translation.

A very literal breakdown is:

• Давай = come on / let’s
• немного = a little / for a bit
• помолчим = we will be silent for a while

But natural English would be:

• Let’s be quiet for a bit
• Let’s stay quiet for a little while
• Let’s be silent for a moment

So the sentence should be understood as a whole pattern, not translated word-by-word.

Yes, Russian word order is flexible, but not every version sounds equally natural.

The given sentence:

• Давай немного помолчим

is very natural.

You may also hear:

• Давай помолчим немного

This is possible, though it can sound slightly different in emphasis.

In the original order, немного smoothly sets up the idea of just for a little while, which is why it sounds especially natural here.

Usually, that would not be the best choice here.

Давай молчать sounds much less natural for Let’s be quiet for a bit. Russian strongly prefers the perfective verb here:

• Давай помолчим

because it presents the silence as a single, limited action or period.

So for this kind of suggestion, помолчим is the idiomatic choice.